


How To Save a Life

by HikaruChord



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Homestuck - Freeform, Multi, Pre-Cascade, Sadstuck, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-20
Updated: 2012-10-22
Packaged: 2017-11-12 13:37:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/491635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HikaruChord/pseuds/HikaruChord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave and John finally met up with each other in the Medium - The two only had a few moments to catch up though before moving on to try and find Jade and Rose. Maybe together the four of them could safely find a way out of the game. As Dave soon learns, the game isn't the only thing threatening them. Will Dave be able to keep his time-loops stable? And will John be able to forgive him if he doesn't?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Act 1, Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There are just a few notes that I'd like to put here to explain:
> 
> ~This is a PRE-CASCADE story. Which means...
> 
> ~ SPOILERS: I like to draw on canon story line elements in my fan fictions, which means that ANYTHING that happened in Homestuck prior to [S] Cascade can and most likely will be referenced casually. 
> 
> ~The story is still being written. Because of this, the info on what characters are involved or what relationships are in the story will also be edited as time goes on. Please bear with me. 
> 
> ~The story is based off of the song "How To Save A Life" by The Fray. Lines from the song may be included at various points in the story.

“Man, you have no idea how long I’ve been looking for you!”

John ran quickly over to his best friend. Since they had started their session of Sburb he had been looking nearly constantly for him, and the rest of his friends. In the back of his mind he made a note that he just needed to find Jade now (Not counting the new troll friends he made – he had been looking forward to seeing Rose, Dave and Jade a whole lot longer than he had Karkat and Vriska anyway).

John waved and Dave gave him a ‘sup nod. So cool.

“Probably not as long as me, bro.”

“Well I’ve  been looking pretty constantly since I found Rose a while back so I don’t know about that,” John said, panting.

“Try three days.” Dave extended a hand to help pull John up. He didn’t smile but something in his face just seemed… smug. John didn’t really mind - or notice, for that matter.

“Three days?” John was confused.

Dave uncaptchalogued his Time Tables and held them above John’s head. They spun slowly and made a gentle humming sound.

“Knight. Of. Motherfucking. Time. While the rest of you have been engaging in one sided, linear foreplay, I’ve been having an orgy with paradox space.” He withdrew his Time Tables and slipped his hands back into his pockets.

“Riiiiiiiight! I remember now – cool!” John had talked a bit with Rose about the roles they all had to play within the game – John being the Heir of Breath, Dave the Knight of Time, Jade the Witch of Space, and Rose herself being the Seer of Light. Dave seemed to have gained control of his time powers right away though. It wasn’t until recently that John was able to control wind at all!

“You bet.” Dave said as he tugged on John’s hood. “Looks like you’ve been up to some cool stuff, too. Am I walking among the Gods now?”

“I guess so!” John grinned and in a sudden gesture spun around, summoning a powerful wind current below him. He rode the little vortex high into the air and floated slowly down to the surface. Dave nodded his approval.

“Looks like you’re a real hero now, dude.” Dave said. John blushed slightly.

“Nah, no way! Besides, this was all Vriska’s thing. She tricked me into it. She’s one of the trolls, by the way. The ones who suck and annoy us and crap like Karkat? But we already talked about her, so I guess you know.”

Dave raised his eyebrow. This wasn’t really like John. Well, weird and talks a lot sounded about right, but this time the kid seemed downright flustered. He decided not to bring it up either way.

“Yeah, I know Vriska.” John looked like he was going to say something – maybe ‘Has she mentioned me at all’ or something like ‘Has she watched Con Air yet?’ – so Dave continued quickly. “Well, I don’t know her, but Terezi talks about her.”

“The Terezi who killed me in that other timeline?” John asked.

“The very same.” Dave nodded. “She was actually trying to help me ascend to God Tier as well.”

John frowned to himself. He didn’t know how he felt about the idea of Dave dying. Yes, he’d awaken on Derse as his God Tier form, but still.

“I guess it didn’t work then?” John asked. “I mean you don’t have any crazy time pajamas that you’re hiding on me, do you?”

“No sir. That magnificent statement of nighttime fashion is all yours.” Dave grinned and John laughed. It was nice being face to face with a friend. Especially not a Grimdark friend. No offense, Rose, John thought to himself.

Dave smiled to himself. Something about the whole situation was just nice. Familiar, though he couldn’t really place it. Joking and having fun but still guarded. He noticed that no matter how silly John acted he always kept one hand close to the hilt of his hammer. Always ready to for a fight. Reminded him of Bro.

They spent a little while catching up, talking as they walked together. Dave suggested that they keep moving so they’d be less easy targets, and John was still hoping they would run into Jade.

“I hope she’s okay…” John said, looking down at his feet as they crossed over a rocky road.

“Don’t worry about her, bro. Jade is one tough Harley. She can take care of herself.”

“Well, yeah, but I’m just worried because she doesn’t have as many lives as us.” Dave raised his eyebrow at that. “She gave her dream self up to save me… If something happens we can’t breathe life into her because her dream self is dead!” John started chewing absently on his bottom lip.

“Well, yes and no,” Dave cut in.

“Huh?”

“Yes, her dream self died, but no, it’s not dead now.” John looked confused and little upset. “She prototyped her Dogsprite with her dead dream self. Now it’s a Jade-Dog-Sprite of Uselessness.”

John perked up a bit, smiling slowly. “Well, does that mean she’d be able to come back if we kissed her? I mean-“ He began to blush and blubber awkwardly. He was new to the world of bitches, and Dave would not fault him for it.

“That I’m not sure of,” Dave paused as he made his way down a steep hill on the path. “I have no idea if she’d be able to come back to life, or if she can ascend to God Tier now that her dream self is a sprite.”

The rules that made up Sburb were still a bit of a mystery to them. The trolls had been helping them quite a bit up until that point, but even then they felt clueless as to what they needed to do, or even what they were able to do.

Suddenly, John lost his footing while making his way down the hill. He let out a shout and flailed wildly as he tried to right himself. In a last ditch effort to save his face, he sent out a blast of air. It sent him spinning up and out - Away from the hill but hurtling quickly towards the ground.

Dave pushed off hard from the hillside and threw his whole body parallel to the ground, his trajectory a collision course with John. Thinking quickly, he pulled out his Time Tables. Just before they collided, he looked down and nodded with relief to the Dave on the ground. Ground Dave nodded back. Just then Air Dave met the spinning idiot in the air. He moved quickly to right him, then activated the Time Tables.

Time Travel was disorienting to say the least. Being pulled through time and space, pulled out of it even, until you’re separate and somewhere completely different and at the same time not at all existent was, well, weird. It was like turning to jelly and being pulled through a tiny tube, or eating way too many hot pockets during Thanksgiving and getting crazy nightmares, or drowning in a phallic sea of smuppets. It took Dave a while to control it, but the feeling wasn’t exactly something you ever really got used to.

Paradox space was a bitch.

Even so, Dave took off at a sprint the moment he was released from the time vortex so he could get into position. It felt almost like an instant and an eternity at the same time, when in actual terms, he had travelled twenty seconds into the past.

John was flipping through the air above him, and just as he got to his spot he could see himself take off at the hillside and fly through the air towards John. Air Dave nodded down to him and he nodded back. Quickly, John was righted and Air Dave disappeared. Dave on the ground jumped and caught John with relatively minimal damage done.

John looked around and blinked. “You were just… but I saw… There were two of… I feel violated.” John looked very confused. Or dizzy. Or both.

“That’s what you get when you try to scramble yourself, Egbert.”

John blushed again. “I meant to do that.” He paused. “I need to lie down.”

____________________

John closed his eyes, resting as he waited for the world to stop spinning. Dave sat on a rock beside him and messed around with his equipment – cleaning up his sword and checking out the gears on his Time Tables. He had no idea how any of it worked, but it was a habit that he had picked up from Bro.

“Looks like your time powers came a bit more in handy than my breath powers,” John spoke softly, either from embarrassment or because he was still worried that he was going to throw up (which he did not want to do in front of Dave).

Dave spoke without looking up from his work. “Took a shit ton of practice though. Time is a tricky mistress.”

“How so?”

Dave put down his sword and jumped down from his perch. “For starters, paradox space is a bitch. When you try to mess with her she goes all PMS on you, and you’re a particularly painful cramp.”

“I see…” John sat up and tried to look thoughtful. “Can you give me a little more to work with than that?”

Dave sat down next to him. “Well for one, and the main thorn in my ass, is trying to keep stable time loops. TZ helped me out with that one at first but not I’m balls deep in time requirements. Jumping forward and backward in time to get to places I’ve already been but still need to be.”

“Can’t you just skip all that stuff? It’s already happened, so you can’t just make it not happen by skipping it, can you?”

Dave shook his head. “I do that and we’ll be up to our ears in dead Daves.” That got John’s attention, which was exactly the reaction Dave was hoping for. “That’s how it works. You break the stable time loops and it creates off-shoot time lines.”

“So… like the same thing happening in two different places? And at the same time?” John asked. He thought he was starting to get it.

“For the sake of you understanding and me not having to explain again let’s say yes. I mean, technically that’s close enough. But you can’t have multiple timelines existing all at once. Paradox space doesn’t like that. So the off shoots are doomed. Destined to be destroyed immediately following their unholy birth.” Dave stood up, brushed himself off and helped pull John to his feet.

“Does that happen a lot?” John asked reluctantly.

“Not nearly as much as it used to. I’ve been pretty on top of things lately. Shouldn’t be any more problems as long as I keep it up.” He flashed John a thumbs up. John grinned and returned it, and they started walking down their original path again.

“Good. I don’t like the sound of any more dead Daves.” Now that he was feeling better he had a slight bounce in his step. Dave wondered to himself if John was always like that in person. He didn’t really mind it.

“Me neither, broseph.” He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword as they walked.

“Also. I think I’ll stick to my windy thing,” John said. Dave smiled ever so slightly.

____________________

“So where exactly are we looking for her?” Dave asked as he scanned the horizon. They had been walking for almost an hour without any real direction, but John insisted that they find Jade and make sure that she was ok. ‘She’s my ectosibling! After my Dad and Nanna… She’s the only family I’ve got left!’ Dave agreed. A plan would have been nice though.

“Well, I found you just by… going. So I figure we can find her the same way!” If he were being honest though he wasn’t nearly that confident. John wanted to find her more than anything at that point, but he had no idea how to go about it. They didn’t even know where they were! It definitely wasn’t the Land of Wind and Shade – Dave said it wasn’t his planet either, and John didn’t think it was Rose’s.

“We aren’t on Prospit or Skaia…” John began thinking aloud.

“Yeah, and it’s not Derse either.” Dave added.

“So either we’re on Jade’s planet or we’re someplace new.” John looked around for any sign of familiar landmarks. He had played for a bit as Jade’s server player but that was mainly before she entered the Medium. If he had paid more attention to the surroundings instead of just the house maybe it would have been easier to pick something out.

“Dude. Why don’t you just pull her up on your computer?” Dave cut into his thoughts.

Oh yeah.

John turned on his Serious Business Goggles and pulled up the Sburb window. He gasped and watched as Jade fired several shots from her rifle at a strange looking imp. The screen flashed green just before the bullets impacted and suddenly the imp was gone. John quickly opened the Pesterchum application.

ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG]  
  
EB: jade!  
EB: we’ve been looking everywhere for you!  
EB: are you ok????????  
GG: hey john! <3  
GG: who’s we?  
EB: me and dave! we ran into each other a little while ago!  
GG: cool!  
EB: yeah! and even more cool i think we’re on your planet.  
GG: really?  
EB: yeah. or at least i think it’s your planet.  
GG: that’s great! hopefully we can find each other soon.  
GG: then we just have to find rose and the four of us can all be together!  
EB: well rose is kind of up to her own stuff right now.  
EB: last time i saw her she was busy being possessed by some evil demons.  
GG: and you just left her?  
EB: she seemed to have things under control.  
GG: uh, if you say so!  
EB: anyway we should meet up as soon as possible  
GG: agreed!  
EB: uh oh  
GG: what?  
GG: john, what’s wrong?  
EB: hold on jade, we’ve got to take care of something on this end.  
  
ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG]  
  
GG: ok!  
GG: be careful guys!  


John quickly closed out of Pesterchum and ran over to back up Dave. Just as he was finishing up his conversation with Jade a small, glowing, green imp appeared out of nowhere. So that’s where he disappeared to!

Dave sprang from the ground above the imp and crashed down hard with his broken sword right on top of where it was just standing. At the last minute there was a bright flash of green and the imp was gone. John reached Dave and they stood back to back.

“Any sign of him?” Dave asked as he scanned the surroundings. John drew his hammer and spun around.

“None. He’s gone, but there’s no way of knowing if he’s coming back.” He barely finished saying that before another flash transported them to LOWAS.

John was used to the dim lighting of LOWAS, but with his shades on, Dave was nearly blind. Dave looked frantically from side to side in hopes of shaking something into his line of sight. John looked into the clearing and saw the imp advance fast on Dave.

Using a sharp gust of air, John flipped himself over Dave and crashed his hammer hard on the imp’s head, which disappeared just before impact.

“CREEPY FUCKERS!” John yelled as he landed. He turned back to Dave and faltered.

Dave had taken off his shades to help his eyes adjust. They were a deep red that burned like fire. Through the darkness of LOWAS they seemed to glow faintly. They caught John off guard, and he caught himself staring. He wanted to know what burned in those eyes. Dave quickly threw on his shades. For once, it was his turn to blush.

Before either of them could say anything there was another flash. They were brought to the top of what looked like an apartment complex. Dave hesitated, partly because he was still embarrassed, and partly from the shock of seeing his home again. In the corner of his eye he could see Cal sitting on the AC unit. Creepy-ass puppet. That fucker terrified Dave growing up – He was convinced that it could move on its own.

Just at that moment Cal launched from his spot on the AC unit and slammed into the side of the imp. Dave almost shit his pants, but then he heard John cheer. John had used the windy thing to launch the puppet at the imp. They both just assumed that the imp was so terrified by the advancing puppet that it was frozen with fear.

The imp growled and flailed wildly, obviously unhappy about the new unsportsmanlike tactics. In a flash of green it was gone. A few seconds later Dave blinked and he was suddenly standing in an unfamiliar house. He almost mistook it for a garden or a jungle for all the plants and leaves surrounding him. He and John began to orient themselves when they were startled by a loud gunshot.

The room filled with grist of many different colors and sizes at their feet. The two dumbfounded boys slowly lowered their weapons as their friend blew the smoke from the tip of her rifle.

“Thanks for distracting him for me, guys!” said Jade with a smile.


	2. Act 1, Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With three out of the four kids reunited, Dave, John and Jade try to figure out how they are going to save Rose. The three of them enlist the help of some trolls in an effort to save their friend, but John begins to get a little jealous of how close Dave and Jade already are.

“Long time no see, cool guy!” Jade said as she sauntered over to Dave, definitely looking the cooler of the two.

“Long time no see?” John asked, blinking between the two of them.

“John!” Jade squealed. She dove at John and tackled him to the ground. “It’s so good to finally see you in person!”

John hugged her back – She smelled like pumpkin spice – and pulled himself to his feet. “Have you guys met before?”

“Just the once!” Jade said cheerfully, pulling John up.

“Got that right. While you and Rose were off mingling with tentacle demons of the most perverted kind, Jade and I were catalysts in the hottest frog on frog action the Medium has ever experienced.”

“Oh yeah! Karkat mentioned something about that.” John wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that. It was really great that everyone was meeting each other and working together the rebuild the universe and all that but something about Dave and Jade alone with frog romance made him uncomfortable. Actually, when phrased like that it made him feel pretty petty. He passed it off as a new found protective brotherly love for his new ecto-sibling.

“How did that go anyway?” John asked.

“Hell if I know.” Dave passed it off with a shrug and that was the end of it. They all agreed that their top priority should be meeting up with Rose – if they couldn’t win the game then hopefully with some luck they could escape it.

Dave saw her last on Derse but that was a while before he met up with John and there was no way of knowing whether or not she’d still be there. John suggested that Dave should go to sleep and try to search for her on Derse.

“No can do, pal. I ended up on Derse the same way she did.”

John frowned and kicked at his feet. Rose woke up on Derse as her dream self because John had sent her there – He had breathed life into her after Jack had struck them both down.

“You mean… Jack got you?”

“Something like that.” Jade didn’t say anything. An awkward silence fell over the group. After about a minute John tried to change the pace of things.

“Well… you were reborn on Derse and now you’re here, and I made it here after being reborn on Skaia! Rose has got to be around here somewhere!”

That made Jade smile. She asked if he really thought so and instantly they began devising a plan. Dave didn’t feel nearly as confident. Last he saw of Rose she was half possessed by evil Gods and half by a semi omniscient douche canoe in a suit, planning a one way, all-expense paid suicide mission. He wanted to save her just as badly as John and Jade but he just didn’t know if it would be possible.

Jade began asking John a million questions about God Tier when Dave’s brooding was suddenly interrupted by an alert from Pesterchum.

gallowsCallibrator [GC] began trolling turntechGodhead [TG]

GC: H3Y D4V3!  
TG: yo TZ  
TG: hows it hangin?  
GC: OH W41T, 1 KNOW TH1S ON3!!  
GC: LOW 4ND SL1GHTLY TO TH3 L3FT!  
TG: you have learned well young padawan  
GC: >:]  
GC: 1 DON’T G3T TH3 P4D4W4N R3F3R3NC3, BUT 1 4M D3F1N1T3LY NOT YOUNG!  
GC: W3’V3 3XP3R13NC3D PR4CT1C4LLY TH3 S4M3 NUMB3R OF SOL4R SW33PS!  
TG: the young part is part of the reference  
GC: OH  
TG: anyway what do you want  
TG: is this another creepy candy red fic thing?  
GC: NO NO  
GC: NOT TH1S T1M3 4T L34ST!  
GC: >;]  
TG: ok gross  
TG: what is it then  
TG: im kinda in the middle of something right now  
GC: OH?  
GC: L1K3 WH4T?  
TG: just met up with jade and john  
TG: you might remember john  
TG: you had him killed  
GC: Y34H…  
GC: SORRY 4BOUT TH4T 4G41N…  
TG: eh its nothing bro  
TG: the proverbial water is under the motherfucking bridge at this point  
GC: W3LL TH4T’S 4 R3L13F!  
GC: ST1LL THOUGH, TH4T D3F1N1T3LY M4K3S TH1S L1K3 4 THOUS4ND T1M3S MOR3 4WKW4RD 4ND D1FF1CULT  
TG: what are you talking about?  
GC: UH. DON’T WORRY 4BOUT 1T?  
TG: alright  
TG: but I gotta say  
TG: this whole thing just seems down right suspicious  
GC: 1 KNOW  
GC: 1’M SORRY D4V3.  
TG: its whatever man  
GC: NO R34LLY  
GC: 1’M R34LLY, R34LLY SORRY

gallowsCallibrator [GC] ceased trolling turntechGodhead [TG]

____________________

“So have you guys made any brilliant breakthroughs while I was gone?” Dave asked. While Terezi had distracted him John and Jade stayed busy by catching up and discussing what to do next. Jade seemed less than thrilled with the results.

“John wants us all to try and contact our Sprites, but that’s a terrible idea! Or at least contacting MY Sprite would be. She’s pretty useless at this point.” Jade crossed her arms in defiance.

“Well, to be fair, you did bring her back from the dead and gave her God-like powers without her permission…”

“Well yeah…” She replied, “I guess you’re right, John. But still, she won’t be any use to use in finding Rose if she can’t stop crying!”

John thought about that. “Yeah… and I lost my amulet for contacting Nanna, so I guess I’m out too.” They both looked expectantly at Dave.

“Hey, don’t look at me, kiddies. I told Davesprite he could frolic in whatever supernatural field he chose, and like the total badass that he is, he’s probably off killing huge monsters and mackin’ hot bitches galore.” At least 20% of that statement was true – Dave had not seen Davesprite since he dismissed him a while back.

“So this whole conversation has gotten us nowhere.” John sighed and rolled onto his back. Jade played with the edge of her skirt. They had been idle for too long, and they all knew it.

“Ok, John! You keep planning while Dave and I go scout out the area now!” Jade stood up with a renewed sense of purpose.

“Huh?”

“Why do I have to stay behind?”

“Because you are our leader!” She explained. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something, but I just can’t keep sitting around anymore! Come on, cool guy!” She grabbed Dave by the wrist and pulled him through the door with her. He seemed put off by the sudden change of plans but took it in stride.

John sat by himself for a few moments and tried to come up with an amazing plan that would solve all of their problems. After a while through his thoughts began to wander and he thought more of how he wished he was out exploring with Dave and Jade.

He was a little upset that Jade stole Dave away from him – The two of them already got to hang out when they were doing that weird frog sex thing. Dave was HIS best friend after all, and they only just ran into each other. John at least wished that one of them had stayed behind to help him come up with a plan. He needed someone to bounce ideas off of. Suddenly, his glasses flashed.

Speak of the devil…

arachnidsGrip [AG] began trolling ectoBiologist [EB]

AG: Hey there Joooooooohn!  
EB: hey vriska!  
EB: how are you doing?  
AG: Still 8reathing!  
EB: well that is definitely a good start!  
AG: You 8et!  
AG: So what is my fearless Earth leader up to today?  
EB: oh man, you wouldn’t believe it!  
EB: i found dave!  
EB: AND THEN  
EB: wait for it  
AG: *w8ts*  
EB: we found jade!  
AG: That’s gr8, John.  
EB: yeah  
EB: but now i’m stuck putting together a plan for us to find rose  
EB: i’m kinda stuck though  
AG: Uh.  
AG: That’s all fine and good  
AG: 8uuuuuuuut……..  
EB: buuuuuuuut what?  
AG: Shouldn’t you all 8e focusing more on winning the game  
AG: or  
AG: not dying?  
EB: well yeah…  
AG: You guys have a lot riding on this, remem8er.  
EB: i know  
EB: but we can’t do it without rose!  
EB: and she’s our friend so we want to make sure she’s safe  
AG: If you say so.  
EB: besides dave and jade are scouting out our next move while I devise my brilliant plan  
AG: Dave and Jade went?  
AG: They left you 8ehind?  
EB: pfft  
EB: don’t remind me  
AG: My my my, SOMEONE doesn’t seem too happy a8out that.  
EB: no, it’s nothing  
AG: Come on, John, let it out!  
AG: Doctor Serket is in.  
AG: :::;)  
EB: no seriously!  
EB: i’m just a little bugged that those two get to spend so much time together is all.  
AG: So you’re feeling a 8it jealous?  
EB: i guess so.  
EB: i mean me and dave JUST got the chance to chill  
EB: but then jade ran off with him.  
EB: they’re probably bonding over frogs or something as we speak.  
AG: Hmmmmmmmm.  
EB: hmm?  
AG Hmmmmmmmm indeed!  
EB: what’s hmm?  
AG: Hmm is the sneaking suspicion that you like Dave!  
EB: what!  
EB: vriska that’s crazy talk!  
AG: Doesn’t sound like it the way you talk a8out him!  
AG: Man, John, now I’M starting to get jealous!  
EB: no no no you don’t get it!  
EB: me and dave are just chill bros! we’re best friends but just friends!  
EB: besides, karkat’s shipping chart says that dave and jade need to get married and have babies.  
AG: Augh!  
AG: Karkat is an idiot, don’t listen to him. Ever.  
EB: isn’t he your leader?  
AG: Yes.  
AG: 8ut he’s still an idiot.  
AG: I’m just surprised he didn’t m8ke your human shipping chart 8e Jade with Jade and JADE with JADE anyway!  
EB: what are you talking about?  
AG: Quit ch8nging the su8ject, Eg8ert!!!!!!!!  
AG: We’re talking a8out your o8session with Dave here, not Karkat’s o8session with Jade!  
EB: uh. ok.  
EB: Let me try to explain better.  
AG: Yes sir!  
EB: dave and me are really really REALLY close because we talk online like every day.  
EB: and we know just about everything there is to know about each other.  
EB: but i don’t think either one of us has ever had a crush on the other one!  
AG: Not even a little one? :::;)  
EB: not even the slightest!  
EB: for one, i am not a homosexual.  
AG: A what?  
EB: and i don’t think dave is either.  
EB: It always sounds like he’s “drowning in bitches” or whatever to me.  
AG: He DOES seem preeeeeeeetty interested in Terezi!  
EB: yeah!  
EB: we’re more like… whatever weird word karkat used for it…  
AG: Moirials?  
EB: that!  
AG: Well I guess that makes sense.  
AG: Glad to hear you’re still on the market!  
AG: :::;)  
EB: vriska!  
EB: (blush!!!)  
AG: You’re sure he’s your moirial though?  
EB: i guess so?  
EB: i mean he’s my best friend!  
EB: and now that we’ve finally seen each other in person it’s like a whole new level!  
EB: like the god tier of friendship!  
AG: Yeah.  
AG: Just…  
EB: just what?  
AG: 8e careful, John!  
EB: why?  
AG: People can 8e a lot different in person than online!  
AG: I don’t want to see you getting hurt  
AG: or disappointed.  
EB: that’s not very like you vriska  
AG: Well soooooooorry for 8eing concerned!  
EB: no it’s not bad!  
EB: just… surprising!  
EB: sorry!  
AG: That’s ok.  
AG: I plan on surprising a lot of people soon!  
AG: ::::D  
EB: well good luck with that!  
AG: You too, Windy 8oy!  
AG: I hope everything works out just fine for you.  
AG: <33333333

arachnidsGrip [AG] ceased trolling ectoBiologist [EB]

____________________

“So what do you think of John?”

“What do you mean?” Dave asked. They had searched about half a mile away from the house in each direction looking for any sign of where Rose might have been but had no luck. Pushing the perimeter further seemed like it would have the same result so they decided to turn back. Jade had been keeping up a cheerful conversation for most of the hike, but the new line of questioning wasn’t exactly what Dave had been expecting.

“He’s a chill bro I guess. I mean it’s not like we’re just meeting now. He and I have been shooting the shit and bustin’ out rhymes for years now.”

“Well, you kind of are meeting for the first time!” Jade said. “People are pretty different in person than online.”

“How do you figure?”

“Well, like you! You’re a whole lot mumblier in person than I expected. It’s not a bad thing either; I actually like it a lot! It’s cute, and also you’re a lot nicer and more concerned and less scary than I thought you would be!”

Dave chewed on the inside of his cheek and was thankful, not for the first time, that he was wearing sunglasses. “Uh, thanks, I guess.” He could feel his face heating up. “Well, what about you? Is your ecto-sibling everything you ever dreamed he would be?”

Jade thought about it for a second. “Well… he’s funny and good to his friends and a total doof!” She giggled. “Not exactly what I was expecting either, but still I wouldn’t change a thing!”

That sounded about right. Definitely not what Dave had expected. He was so much more awkward in person, but still he was so confident. _’It makes sense that he’s our leader’_ , thought Dave to himself. When John made a decision he stuck with it.

And he was powerful. Dave bet he’d have made God Tier even without Vriska’s help. The kid was a gold mine of untapped potential – He didn’t know how, but despite all the clumsy, awkward, lame-ass shenanigans, John was going to do great things. ‘ _Maybe even get us through this game_ ’ he thought.

A real hero. Dave shivered and wondered if he’d be able to manage even half as much. Without a dream self the God Tier ship had sailed. He lost his chance, even when someone had been helping.

Stuck in his shadow. Well, that wasn’t something new, now was it?

“He’s definitely a doof.” Dave said. They had finally made it to the stairway leading to the house. Jade went up first and Dave followed close behind. “He’s a doof and my best bro. No doubt.”

Jade smiled back at him and they made their way back inside.

____________________

“Ok, so I have an idea but Jade isn’t going to like it.”

“Fine by me, dude.”

“WHAT no fair.”

Dave smiled and John laughed lightly. Jade sat cross legged on the floor across from them.

“Right, so Rose is going on a mission to blow up the Green Sun with The Tumor, right?” They nodded. “And the Green Sun gives the First Guardians their powers, yeah?”

“Yeah…?”

“Get on with it, dude.”

“Well, Jadesprite has First Guardian powers too! Maybe she can get to the planet, or transport Rose back to use!”

“AUGH WHY” Jade rolled onto her back and groaned. “WHYYYYYYY.”

“It’s all I could think of that might actually work!” John frowned. “Can you think of anything better?”

“We could just go look for a way to save her like we were earlier…” John couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not. He sighed and shook his head.

“Not to intrude on all the sibling rivalry shit or anything, but didn’t we already decide that none of us know how to get to our Sprites at this point anyway?” Dave said from his corner. That was something John had not considered. Regardless of whether or not Jadesprite COULD help them, if they couldn’t find her it wouldn’t make the slightest difference.

They sat in silence for a few moments trying to figure out the last piece in what really was the only plan they had left. Finally, Jade broke the silence, speaking soft and slow.

“Well… I bet the Sprites can probably locate each other… so…” She quietly thought a few seconds and then turned to Dave. “Does Davesprite still have his iShades?”

“He was wearing them when he did that totally bad ass backflip into my kernalsprite, but I don’t know if they still work. Either way if you try to pester turntechGodhead you just get me instead.” Dave tapped his glasses.

Jade smiled and activated one of her several computers. “Don’t worry. I’ve got back up that’s good with technology.”

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

GG: hey karkat!  
CG: HARLEY?  
CG: TO WHAT DO I OWE THE PLEASURE OF THIS MOST ANNOYING INTERUPTION?  
GG: oh hush you  
GG: i need some computer help  
CG: WAIT  
CG: YOU ARE ASKING ME FOR GUIDANCE IN A TECHNOLOGICAL ENDEAVOR?  
GG: well yeah!  
GG: who else would I ask?  
CG: NO ONE THAT’S WHO  
CG: ESPECIALLY NOT SOME NUB MUNCHER WITH A LISP AND A SHITTY SHOW OFFY ATTITUDE  
GG: uh sure  
GG: as long as that’s all settled  
CG: WHAT IS IT EXACTLY THAT YOU NEED ME TO DO  
GG: can you somehow find out if davesprite has a working computer, and contact him if he does?  
CG: CAN I?  
CG: JEGUS FUCK  
CG: YOU ALMOST MAD ME CHOKE ON HOW FUCKING STUPID THAT LAST QUESTION WAS  
CG: THAT REQUEST IS FUCKING GRUB PLAY  
GG: so you’ll do it?  
CG: GIVE ME A FEW HOURS AND YOULL HAVE IT  
GG: hours??  
GG: i thought this was grub play!  
CG: LOOK DO YOU WANT ME TO DO IT OR NOT  
GG: fine fine fine  
GG: sorry  
CG: IF I GET IN TOUCH WITH THE FEATHERY DOUCHE BAG I WILL FORWARD HIM TO YOU  
GG: great! Thanks karkat, you’re the best! <3  
CG: WHATEVER

gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

CG: <3

____________________

“Well kids, as fun as all this not doing shit is, it’s time for Dave to get shit done.” They had been sitting there waiting to hear back from Karkat for twenty minutes. Dave was getting tired of feeling helpless and worried about staying in one place for too long. He made his way to the door and the other two followed him.

“Dave!” Jade called ahead to him. “We can’t do anything until Karkat gets in contact with Davesprite! What are you doing?”

Dave brushed off the questions and led the group on up the path. When he and Jade were exploring they had found a high tower on one of the rock faces. Dave would need to get to the top of it if his plan had any chance of succeeding. Actually, he was pretty sure it would work on the ground too, but that made the whole thing look pretty fucking epic.

Jade was getting annoyed. “Dave! What is going on?” They were halfway up, just getting to the entrance of the tower.

“You got to contact your annoying friend for help, so I’m going to try and contact some of mine. See if they can get to Rose.” Dave said this without looking back. In all honesty he wasn’t looking forward to what came next, but it was a hell of a lot better than sitting around waiting for Rose to die or for Jack to show up. Dave led them up the stairs to the top of the tower, followed by Jade and with John close behind.

“Are you asking one of the trolls?” John asked. He gasped. “Do you know where to find them?” That seemed to excite him more than it did Jade.

“Not exactly, bro. Sorry to say but we won’t be able to see these friends. Or at least you won’t.” With that Dave pushed open the wooden doors at the top of the tower and stepped out onto the cupola.  “About fucking time… stairway to nowhere… jesus…” Dave muttered to himself as he made his way to the center of the tower.

John moved to follow him. “Stay where you are Egbert.” Dave called back to him. “I’m going to need space for this.” He didn’t actually. More setting the mood. John and Jade watched with a reserved sense of awe.

Dave took a deep breath and looked over to his friends. When his eyes met John’s he could feel the blood begin to rush to his face again. John smiled awkwardly and flashed Dave two thumbs up. Jade forced a weak smile but she couldn’t help looking nervous.

Cheeks red, Dave pulled off his shades and tilted his head back to search through the sky, silently calling out to the Furthest Ring.

John held his breath. He didn’t know what was going to happen and also he got distracted by Dave’s eyes again. The lights of the Medium’s sky reflected in them, made his red eyes burn. His brow was furrowed and his eyes shifted rapidly, scanning through all of space. John thought that if anything could be found out there, those eyes would find it. He exhaled.

Suddenly Dave’s eyes snapped to a point in the sky. His body stiffened and he quickly began to sweat. John moved as if to run to him but Jade stopped him.

As strange and uncomfortable as time travel was, communion with the dark Gods would always, always be worse. Every negative feeling you’ve ever felt burns its way to the surface – Your nightmares bridge the connection to them. All at once Dave felt them. His pain from losing Bro. His insecurities about his own identity. His confusion in how he felt towards his friends. And even then, something more tugged at him that he could not identify. It was no more painful than the rest, but it was somehow different. He just couldn’t place it. Slowly the connection grew and as he felt his bond with the Gods growing he realized the cause of his unease. The reason terrified him.

The Gods of Derse were crying.

Dave was shaking.

Jade bit her lip and tightened her grip on John’s arm. Something didn’t seem right.

Suddenly Dave went limp. The connection between him and the Gods was severed. He began to fall. John and Jade both lunched forward in a futile attempt to catch him, but the Gods were not done just yet. Gently Dave floated a foot above the ground. Slowly he tilted in the air until he was righted. He regained his footing after a few seconds. His two friends stood warily to the side as he blinked and looked around him. He honed in on them and smiled.

“Guys…“ He spoke slowly. “I know where Rose is. I know how to get her back.”

John was halfway through inhaling to give out a cheer when blood spattered from Dave’s neck. His red eyes wide, a broken blade slid across his neck, severing his head completely. It dropped to the ground and his body crumpled.

Jade screamed. John felt like he was going to throw up.

“Yeah… Sorry you had to see that.” Said Dave, as he withdrew his bloodied blade and stepped around his corpse.


	3. Act 2, Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group's plan comes to a halt as they have trouble trying to contact Davesprite - Meanwhile, John refuses to forgive Dave for creating the Doomed Dave that was his friend.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” John screamed at the top of his lungs. His voice cracked. 

Dave dropped his sword on the ground and it clanged loudly next to the severed head of his doomed time clone. “Dude, just calm down and let me-“ 

“WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUCK!!!” John threw his hammer hard at Dave and it just barely missed his head. “Dave what did you do!?”

“John, calm down!” Jade stepped in between the two of them and held up her arms. John tried to push past her but she did not budge. “Look, just let him explain!”

John was still thrashing and trying to escape Jade’s iron grip when Dave got to him. Silently Dave took in the scene, glancing from John and Jade to the dead Dave on the ground.   
“Did he explain the time loops?” Dave gestured with his head to the corpse.

John had calmed down just enough to respond. “Huh?”

“That Dave.” He sounded detached when he spoke. “Did he explain to you how time loops and off shoot time lines work?” 

John was silent but nodded the affirmative. Jade still held him, but at that point it was not to restrain him but to comfort him. Dave sighed. 

“Good, that saves some time.” He turned the head to face away from them by nudging it with his foot. Anger flashed across John’s face, but Dave didn’t notice. “As you can see” Dave began, “we’ve got a prime specimen as to how Dave Strider fucked up this time.”

“Dave…” Jade began. She loosened her grip on John.

“Let’s go.” Dave cut in.

“What? No!” John yelled and ran to the body on the ground. “I’m not leaving him! Can’t we do something? We can bring him back, breathe life into him!” John was shaking. He searched for the head but Dave was standing in his way.

“Ok Egbert. First? What kind of sick fuck kisses a decapitated head? Second, I don’t have a dream self. It’s just me. You can make out with doomed Dave all you want but it won’t do us much good.”

“Don’t call him that!” John snarled at Dave. “Just stop it!”

It was Dave’s turn to get angry. “Stop what? Look at me John. I’m right here. Alive. And so are you. The three of us are here and alive, when there was a good chance we wouldn't have been otherwise.”

That caught John off guard. He didn't know what to think. He was angry and scared and confused and everything was happening way too fast. For a while he just sat there staring, unable to respond. Jade filled in the gap.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

Dave rubbed his temples and began to pace lightly. He needed to get them out of there. “Ok then, the short version. I messed up and created this guy’s off shoot timeline. He was doomed to die no matter what. And in our present situation, if I didn’t show up and do it myself, what do you think would have happened?”

“Jack…” John said quietly from the ground. 

Dave nodded. “Just by coming here I created another doomed timeline. In that one I didn’t show up to take out the double D. Somewhere in an alternate universe Jack just killed Doomed Dave, Doomed John, and Doomed Jade. Game over.”

They all hung in the silence for a few long seconds before reaching the same conclusion. “Let’s move.” Hade said. Dave offered John a hand getting up. He took it but followed it up by saying “I’m still not ok with this. At all. That wasn’t a robot. It wasn’t a clone, or a toy or a decoy or any shit like that. That was Dave. He had bones and blood and thoughts and a voice, and you killed him.” Dave was about to interject but John cut him off. “I know you were protecting us but you shouldn’t have fucking created him in the first place.”   
Dave wanted to snap back at him, wanted to hit him. But John stormed off and the moment passed. Dave cooled off and the three of them made their way down the tower and back onto the path.

“Did he think that was easy?” Dave began quietly muttering to himself at the back of the line where the other two couldn’t hear him. “Oh yeah just a stroll in the park. Maybe get some ice cream then murder yourself where all your best friends can watch in horror, love that shit. Bastard should try it himself sometime. Oh right some of us can’t die. Must be nice. Jesus fuck.” 

Growing up, before Bro hit it big in the Smuppet biz, Dave was left home alone a lot while Bro worked trying to make ends meet. Dave essentially grew up as an only child – Bro was more of a guardian than a brother to him. Dave played a lot by himself because of it, and he got into the habit of talking to himself. He had a very active imagination, which was able to channel into freestyle rap. Bro was worried about the talking to himself thing for a while, but Dave seemed to be just fine, so he just accepted it. It embarrassed Dave a little in public though, and he tried to stop it anytime he noticed himself doing it.

Dave began chewing on the inside of his lip to shut himself up. They walked for almost half an hour with no one saying a word. Jade took the lead with her rifle at the ready. There was no sign of any enemies around, but if Jack had already managed to pick them off on that tower in one timeline, she wanted to get them as far away from that spot as possible. Just in case.

Finally they came across a clearing within the forest and decided to rest. “Karkat sure is taking his time getting to Davesprite…” that marked Jade’s third failed attempt at starting conversation.

John stood. “I’m going for a walk.” He headed out into the forest without another word. 

Jade trailed after him. “I’ll come with you!” She shouted. “It’s not safe to go alone, John! You’ll get lost!” She glanced back to the clearing. “Dave?” She called back.  
“I’ll hold down the fort.” He replied, and the two disappeared behind the trees. 

The last thing Dave wanted at that point was the be left to his own thoughts, so he pulled up a Pesterchum window and skimmed through his contacts.

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering gallowsCallibrator [GC]

TG: yo  
GC: YO D4V3!  
GC: HOW D1D 1T GO?  
TG: about as horribly as we predicted  
GC: 1M SORRY…  
GC: >:[  
TG: its whatever man  
TG: whats done is done  
GC: 4T L34ST J4CK D1DN’T G3T TH3R3 F1RST!  
TG: at least not in this timeline  
GC: TH3Y W3R3 UPS3T BY TH4T TOO?  
TG: well john was kind of  
TG: jade has been handling the situation so well its actually creeping me out  
GC: HUM4NS SUR3 4R3 SQU1SHY  
TG: yeah I guess so  
TG: youre pretty squishy for a troll though  
GC: TRU3 3NOUGH 1 GU3SS  
TG: either way good on ya catching the break in the time loop  
TG: that was a close one  
GC: YOU D1D 4LL TH3 1MPORT4NT WORK  
TG: nah I wouldnt even have known  
TG: I still cant even remember where I messed up  
GC: Y34H?  
TG: yeah  
TG: so i guess  
TG: thanks  
TG: for saving my friends  
GC: D4V3…  
TG: what?  
GC: NOTH1NG  
GC: JUST…  
GC: YOU SHOULD G1V3 YOURS3LF MOR3 CR3D1T  
TG: yeah right  
TG: maybe if i can get things straight for once ill do just that  
GC: YOU’R3 JUST S4Y1NG TH4T B3C4US3 YOU’R3 M4D!  
TG: yeah i am  
GC: >:[  
TG: listen TZ ill talk to you later  
GC: F1N3

turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering gallowsCallibrator [GC]

____________________

John and Jade walked on in silence for almost an hour. Jade was beginning to worry about Dave, but John kept pushing forward. He didn’t say a word.

“John…” No answer.

“John… he saved our lives…” 

“He saved SOME of our lives. From HIS mistake!” He snapped back. He kept stomping forward. Jade did her best to keep up with him but the trees and brush kept getting thicker. John became quickly frustrated and started smashing trees and stones with his hammer as they got in his way. 

Just when Jade thought they were getting way too deep into the jungle they stumbled upon a large, open swamp. A thick wall of trees circled the muddy pool and a chorus of a thousand frogs filled the air. 

“John… we should head back…” Jade said softly. John couldn’t hear her over the croaks. She spoke up. “John, let’s go back.” Either he still couldn’t hear or he just wasn’t listening. 

She yelled to him. “John! We need to get back to Dave!” 

He whipped his head around and yelled back. “Why?”

“It’s not safe for us to-“ She began but he cut her off. 

“No! Why! Why are you defending him?” He stormed up to her. He was practically screaming in her face. “Why do you think he deserves any sympathy? Why?”

“He saved us.” She choked out. 

“He killed Dave! And for what? Because Jack MIGHT have shown up and MIGHT have killed us? Why didn’t he just go find Jack then? Why did he have to kill Dave?” Tears were building in his eyes but he was too angry and scared to cry. 

“John, you need to calm down! Dave is still alive, he’s-“

“I watched him die!” he screamed.

“I watched him die twice!” she screamed back.

“Then why do you think he deserves any pity?”

“Because I killed him!” Her voice echoed through the clearing. John stared at her. She was shaking but he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Her knees buckled and she sat on the grass. John thought he heard her say something. 

“What?” He asked. He approached her slowly.

“I said you’re an ass.” She glared at him. Her eyes were red. 

He sat down next to her and waited. She shook her head. “It was an accident.” She began. “Jack showed up. We ended up fighting him. I tried to hit him but he could disappear before my bullets even got close. Dave was behind him. I shot Dave.” She wiped her nose and laughed lightly. “I thought Dave might be my first kiss but that wasn’t at all how I planned it.” 

“You brought him back to life on Derse…”

“What else could I do? He was dying and it was all my fault!”

“That was an accident.” John said.

“So was Dave’s!”

“No.” He snapped. “That was different.”

“How?”

“You were aiming for Jack and missed. And you made things right in the end. The guy who is supposed to be my best friend just went out of his way to murder my best friend right in front of me. Which I’m pretty sure normal kids don’t have to go through most of the time.” He stood up and began pacing slowly.

“Well, we aren’t exactly normal kids…” Jade said as she watched him.

“I guess that’s my fault.” He stopped and looked at her. “It’s my fault that everyone’s dying.”

Jade frowned and stood up. “John…” She walked over to him. He leaned forward a bit, anticipating her embrace. She slapped him in the face.

“Ah! What the hell, Jade?” He rubbed his face.

“If you’re going to say stupid things, you’re going to get slapped.”

“But-“

“No buts! If we didn’t enter the Medium those meteors would have crushed us! You didn’t kill us, you have us a chance to survive, dumbass.”

John smiled awkwardly and Jade’s serious face melted into a laugh. That time they hugged for real.

“I’m sorry Jade. I’m still really confused. And I haven’t really forgiven him yet. But you’re right – If we’re going to survive, and save Rose, we need to work together.”

She hugged tighter and smiled. “Finally sounding like a leader! Is my John growing up?”

“Pfft. Shut up.” A few moments later they left the clearing and began working their way back through the jungle.

____________________

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling gardenGnostic [GG]

CG: FUCKING KILL ME  
GG: what’s wrong mister grumpy horns?  
CG: I FOUND DAVESPRITE  
GG: that’s great!  
GG: i knew you could do it! <3  
CG: YEAH GREAT  
CG: EXCEPT HE WONT LISTEN TO A FUCKING WORD I SAY  
GG: oh no!  
GG: why not?  
CG: THE KID SEEMS TO HATE TROLLS WITH AN UNCONTROLABLE RAGE  
GG: isnt he just like dave though?  
GG: like literally the same person  
CG: TECHNICALLY  
GG: but dave and that blind lady troll are such good friends  
CG: YEAH DON’T REMIND ME  
GG: so why would davesprite be any different?  
CG: HE EXPERIENCED A COMPLETETLY DIFFERENT TIMELINE FROM YOUR DAVE  
CG: IF THE CLEVER FUCKER DIDNT PROTOTYPE HIMSELF THE MOMENT HE SHOWED UP HE WOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED AS A DOOMED DAVE  
GG: oh gosh  
GG: what could have happened in his timeline that would make him hate you guys so much?  
CG: WELL FOR STARTERS YOU AND EGBERT DIED AND HE AND LALONDE WERE TRAPPED FOR MONTHS IN A NULL SESSION  
GG: oh no!  
GG: poor davesprite…  
CG: YOU MEAN POOR DAVE  
GG: huh?  
CG: HE WAS DAVE THEN  
CG: UP UNTIL YOUR STRIDER PUSHED HIM INTO THE BACK SEAT  
GG: then how are we going to get his help?  
GG: we need him if we are going to save rose!  
CG: IF YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A CHANCE TO SAVE ROSE SEEMS TO BE A MORE ACCURATE STATEMENT  
CG: I STILL DONT UNDERSTAND THE FULL IMPLICATIONS OF YOUR PLAN BUT FROM WHAT I GOT IT SOUNDS RETARDED  
GG: im not sure if i fully understand it all either!  
GG: but……..  
GG: its better than doing nothing!  
CG: YOU JUST USED EIGHT DOTS  
GG: what?  
CG: NEVERMIND  
CG: I GUESS ILL JUST HAVE TO TRUST THAT YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT YOURE DOING  
GG: about time!  
CG: WHATEVER  
CG: LISTEN JADE IVE GOT TO RUN  
CG: EVERYONE IS OFF DOING THEIR OWN THING AND I HAVENT SEEN GAMZEE FOR A WHILE SO IM GETTING WORRIED  
GG: do you think hes ok?  
CG: I HOPE SO  
CG: THE BASTARD IS PROBABLY OFF MAKING OUT WITH TAVROS SOMEWHERE  
CG: I HAVENT SEEN HIM IN A WHILE EITHERR  
GG: hehehehe  
CG: ALRIGHT  
CG: IVE GOT SHIT THAT NEEDS GETTING TOGETHER  
CG: LATER HARLEY  
GG: good luck karkat! <3

carcinoGeneticist [CG] has ceased trolling gardenGnostic [GG]

____________________

They assembled back at the original meeting spot. John had agreed to work with Dave under the assertion that it was just so they could save Rose. He spoke as little as possible to Dave, and if the knight was bothered he didn’t show it. Dave was mostly quiet himself – he spent a lot of his time on Pesterchum talking to Terezi. Jade couldn’t tell which she hated more: Seeing her friends fight or being caught in the middle of it.

“Dave!” Jade shouted, louder than the first two times.

“Huh?” He minimized the chat window and glanced over to Jade. “What’s up?”

“I just asked you if you could contact the Derse Gods. The… other Dave-” John frowned at that, “-said that they told him how to get Rose back.” 

Dave just shook his head. Terezi had suggested that he try that while they were gone. He searched the sky almost the whole time they were gone but he couldn’t make the connection. Whatever they told Doomed Dave, it was meant to be their final gift. The connection was fully severed. Dave wasn’t sure if he felt relieved or sadly empty.

“Well… Karkat is the only one who can contact Davesprite, but Davesprite won’t listen to trolls, so… I don’t know how that plan is going to work.”

“I’ll have to introduce him to TZ once we fix all this shit. She’s a chill alien babe.” He was already back to chatting with her and couldn’t see Jade’s face flush as she frowned at him.  
“Not helpful right now, Dave!” No response. She turned to the other side of the room. “John?”

John was playing with his shoe laces. “I’m spent. Operation Sprite Brigade was honestly the best I could come up with. Someone else be leader.”

“We need to come up with something.” Jade insisted.

“There is nothing left!” John snapped back. “We’ve done all we can and none of it worked! This is it, it’s done. Story over. There is literally no way to move forward from this point!”

He was interrupted by a yelp outside. A dog yelp.

In through the door crashed a black figured, snarling and bearing its sharp teeth. Jack stepped forward and unsheathed the sword from his chest. John’s heart dropped. Jade gasped as Jack looked at her, but he hesitated. 

It all happened too quickly. Hack dove and Jade screamed as he jabbed the sword directly into Dave’s chest. Before her scream was finished, though, she realized that Dave was gone.

While John and Jade had been busy fighting with each other, Dave and Terezi’s conversation was interrupted by a single message to Dave.

 

CG: TIME TABLES. NOW.

 

The warning came just in time. Dave barely had them out when Jack burst into the room. As Jack lunged at him, he active the Time Tables. 

Dave flew through the time vortex. With his Time Tables in hand he didn’t have a chance to draw a weapon. His senses began to adjust as he neared his destination. He could hear the muffled sound of John’s voice. It sounded like he was under water.

“This is it, it’s done. Story over. There is literally no way to move forward from this point!”

At that exact moment Dave emerged from the time vortex and, at full speed, drove his foot into Jack’s head, just outside the door. Dave back flipped off his head as Jack gave out a loud yelp in surprise. He clawed at the air but Dave had already entered the vortex again.

Timing a trip to the future was much trickier. When you haven’t lived through something yet you can’t be entirely sure that things will be as you expect them. Especially not in combat against an omnipotent, rabid dog. Dave had never actually tried it before. First time for everything.

He heard screams. Show time.

Jack lunged right where Dave had just been sitting and buried his sword into the ground. John quickly drew his hammer and in that moment Dave materialized. He drove his foot into the back of Jack’s head once more, smacking it against the hilt of his sword and pushing it deeper into the ground. He rebounded off of the dazed enemy into another back flip that landed him back near John.

“How did he find us?” Dave yelled.

“How should I know?” John spat back. “Maybe YOU led him here!”

“Oh, fuck off!”

Jack shook his head as he righted himself. He growled and grabbed a hold of his sword. He pulled on it but it wouldn’t move. The growl turned to a snarl as he turned to the kids. John saw an opportunity.

With a snap of his wrists he pushed himself forward like a jet engine. Hammer raised, he flew straight at Jack. John didn’t know dogs could smile. 

Dave saw it before John did. The green glow. The sword disappearing. It reappeared in Jack’s hands only moments before John was going to make contact. Dave cried out to him but the sound would not make it to him in time. 

There was a loud clang. John yelped and his eyes opened wide. Dave faltered.

Jack’s sword just barely missed skewering John between the eyes. A glowing orange sword held it shakily out of the way.

“Sup, bro?” Davesprite let out with a grunt.


End file.
